Phoenix Zuchrud
Phoenix Zuchrud '''is a third-level fighter and an explorer throughout the world of Naephemon, traveling with whoever she sees fit at the time to stop evil as much as possible and have as many adventures as she can. She makes her first appearance in Journey for the Sunstone. Appearance Phoenix is fairly muscular and a bit tall for her age, with an almost naturally athletic build perfect for fighting. She has pale orange skin, a bit lighter than the average genasi, and a sprinkling of freckles that resemble sparks across her cheeks. She also has deep blue eyes like the heart of a fire. Her hair is long enough to go down to her back, starting out as maroon at the roots but slowly turning hotter and brighter as it goes down, turning to bright red, orange, and finally yellow crackling at the tips. Typically she wears it up in a ponytail tied up with a special fireproof iron clip to keep it out of her face while fighting. Long lines colored red and yellow twist up her arms and legs like tattoos, stretching across her back and swirling on her chest in flamelike patterns. Typically, whenever she uses fire, they'll glow brighter the more she strains herself or the more effort she puts in. Some thin and some larger scars lace her body here and there from various fights and incidents. Personality Phoenix is confident, energetic, and headstrong with a habit for acting on her feet and getting the job done. Some might view this confidence with a dash of arrogance, but in Phoenix's case, it simply makes her job as a fighter all the more easier. Phoenix lives with a rush for life and a need to experience as much as she can, often enacting this in a very assertive manner. Her fiery and exhuberant nature oftentimes manifests itself in the form of bashing heads and swordfighting with monsters, which does sometimes get her into some trouble in her personal life. Her forceful and pushy nature can sometimes be a bit offputting to others, but even more often Phoenix can override this with her unwitting charisma and likability. Her confidence and extraversion gives her a knack for people that not many others can match, and one will often find this out after simply having a conversation with her. Phoenix is incredibly unfiltered, finding herself brutally honest and straightforward. She doesn't think that her opinion needs to be censored, but this can lead to some issues when it comes to making deals and dipolomatic policies. However, like most fire genasi, Phoenix's extreme passion oftentimes results in extremely reactive emotions. Whenever she's mad, happy, or sad, it's easy to see, as there will always be an explosive reaction filled with screaming, yelling, cheering, or something in between. This emotional nature doesn't crowd her judgement, for if anything else, Phoenix is incredibly realistic. She doesn't spend a lot of time prodding the bigger meaning of something, and prefers to simply, as she says, "get shit done." If she's in battle, she wants to act. She's fantastic at thinking on her feet and leaping into the unknown, but this nature can tend to get her into predicaments. Whatever the case, Phoenix is an incredibly valuable member and heavy-hitter of Rame Leviathan. Powers and Abilities Stats Fire Genasi * ''Darkvision. Phoenix can see in dim light within 60 feet of her as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Her ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire make her darkvision unusual, as everything she sees in darkness in a dark shade of red. * ''Fire Resistance. ''Phoenix has resistance to fire damage. * ''Reach to the Blaze. ''Phoenix knows the produce flame cantrip. At 3rd level, she gained the ability to cast the burning hands spell once as a 1st level spell, and regains the ability to cast it after she finishes a long rest. Constitution is her spellcasting ability for these spells. Fighter Abilities * '''''Fighting Style: ''Great Weapon Fighting. ''When Phoenix attacks with a two-handed melee weapon, if she rolls a 1 or 2 on the damage die, she can reroll the die and must use that new result. * ''Second Wind. ''Phoenix can use a bonus action to regain 1d10 + 3 (fighter level) hit points once per short rest. * ''Action Surge. ''On her turn, Phoenix can take one additional action, plus one optional bonus action. * ''Martial Archetype: Champion. ''Phoenix is, in short, hella strong. ** ''Improved Critical. ''Phoenix's weapon attacks score a critical hit on a 19 or 20. Relationships Family [[Sophie Zuchrud|'Sophie Zuchrud']] Phoenix has always been very close to her mother. Despite her more athletic nature contrasting with her mother's penchant for performance, the two have always been very close. Both are incredibly spontaneous, free-spirited, and fun-loving, and Phoenix has always appreciated her mother's non-smothering and loose parenting style. Ramé Leviathan [[Yuki Beckstrom|'Yuki Beckstrom']] Yuki and Phoenix have been shown time and time again to be great friends. The two share a mutual love of nearly everything and enjoy horsing around together; even if it is, unfortunately, the annoyance of others. Even so, the two oftentimes know how to have a good time together, and will often be found getting into various shenanigans. Yuki often succeeds in keeping down Phoenix's flirty side just enough to bring out her childish instincts, and as such Phoenix typically enjoys Yuki's company. The fae-tiefling is always willing to go along with Phoenix's schemes and plans, much to her delight, and as such the two have fun together. Burning Fox Tribe [[Varic Daecaryn|'Varic Daecaryn']] Phoenix meets Varic Daecaryn in her first quest, the Journey for the Sunstone. Throughout the entire quest, Varic was always incredibly flirty with Phoenix and Phoenix, very quickly, developed a crush on him. The two clicked instantly, and spend most of their journey through the mountains flirting with each other. While traveling through the mountains, Varic gave his jacket to a cold Phoenix, indirectly showing his feelings of affection for her. The two are both romantically interested in each other, but nowhere near dating. However, they both seem to share and extroverted nature and sense of humor, as well as a real sense of the world and daring and creative actions. It didn't take very long for them to become close, and although they might not be dating, they are certainly remarkably close. [[Ravasatra Daecaryn|'Ravasatra Daecaryn']] It has been shown time and time again that Ravasatra Daecaryn holds a strong dislike for Ravasatra and vice versa. Ravasatra was defensive and suspicious of Phoenix when they first met, and throughout their entire journey, she persistently held true to her ideals. Phoenix has responded with being defensive and mistrustful around Ravasatra, and when Varic revealed to her that one of the main reasons Ravasatra hated Phoenix was because she basically swept her quest right out from under her feet. Originally, Ravasatra was going to be the chosen one to find the Sunstone and return winter to the land, but ever since the sunstone chose Phoenix, Ravasatra has essentially had her purpose discarded. Despite knowing this information, Phoenix is continuously on edge around Ravasatra, never fully letting her guard down. [[Zylstina Lorazumin|'Zylstina Lorazumin']] Phoenix and Zylstina Lorazumin appear to have a fairly close relationship. The two are very similar in terms of their excitable nature and empathetic ways, and can typically agree when it comes to hyping something up. Moreso, Phoenix greatly appreciates Zylstina's optimism and bubbly nature and enjoys frequently hanging out with her. She takes the time to make sure that she's okay, and isn't afraid to consider her a friend. Phoenix is often quote-on-quote "shipping" Zylstina with Olotoris, as she can sense Olotoris's crush on her, but Zylstina typically gets embarrassed and quickly brushes this off whenever Phoenix brings it up. [[Olotoris Umehorn|'Olotoris Umehorn']] Olotoris Umehorn and Phoenix don't appear to have much of a relationship. Olotoris was very annoyed with Phoenix when she basically volunteered him to perform for the frost giants and is often quite annoyed with her constant hitting on Varic. The Scarlet Maiden [[Asuga|'Asuga']] Phoenix and Asuga hit it off very quickly. They first met when Phoenix, along with a few others, walked in on Asuga interrogating Captain Monkley, and Phoenix was immediately drawn to her. She admired her confident aura and sassy presence, and immediately developed a crush on her. Throughout the campaign The Treasure of Niverbo, Phoenix has continuously hit on Asuga again and again, and although Asuga has always kept the same playful presence with Phoenix as she does everyone else, that doesn't stop Phoenix from continuing to hit on her. Notable Equipment Epilogue, Defender of the Burning Sun Stolen from an evil wizard after defeating him in battle, Epilogue is a sword activated by fire users, which makes it perfectly equipped to Phoenix's nature. When burning hands is cast while holding it, Epilogue's blade will immediately spout flames and deal fire damage as well as piercing damage. Synopsis Early Life Born in the small Setrya town of Amberpoint, Phoenix was conceived nine months earlier when her mother, Sophie Zuchrud, engaged in a one night stand with a fire genie. Growing up, Phoenix was always seen as the "baby" or "mascot" of the guild, being taken care of by many other guild members as her mother was quite popular around there. It was there that Phoenix revelled in her genasi heritage; as Amberpoint had many members from all over Naephemon, but genasi were few and far between. Being a genasi was not a curse, but an interesting quirk that made her stand out. Nothing happened in Phoenix's life to make her want to leave home. Rather, it seems she was just born that way. She was always on the lookout for new adventure and excitement, and life in Amberpoint only fueled that desire. Acting as a stopping point for many adventurers, Phoenix came across all kinds of people from all over Naephemon. She wanted to see these places more than anything; to travel the world and have a good time. Compared to the stories she had heard, life in Amberpoint started to seem rather boring. So, when Phoenix was seventeen years old, she announced to her mother and her guild that she would be leaving for a life of adventure. Luckily for her, however, the people in the guild were not mad at her, but ecstatic. She was essentially the mascot of the guild, and to see her leave home was like watching a child grow up. Given a few things for her travels, Phoenix left Amberpoint and was sent on her way. Journey for the Sunstone After leaving Amberpoint, Phoenix tried to come up with an idea for what she wanted to do on her travels. After asking around, she discovered rumors that the Sunridge Peaks of Testa was, oddly enough, growing colder. Testa was said to be Setrya's cousin in many ways, meaning that it should have been rather warm, so when Phoenix heard this, she decided to make her stop there and investigate to see what the problem was. Catching a boat that was sailing around Naephemon, Phoenix finally arrived in Testa right at the edge of Testa and discovered, to her amazement, that it was remarkably frigid. She had no idea where to start, so as a base, she decided to simply climb the mountain and see if she found anything. Upon climbing the plateau, Phoenix unknowingly awoke the symbol of the Sunstone, which then bound itself to her being as soon as it sensed her and her potential. The resulting quake resulted in Phoenix being found by Ravasatra Daecaryn's party and accompanying them on their quest. Phoenix proved herself to be a valuable ally to the party, despite it being her first time going on an actual quest. She managed to hold her own in fights against Wretched Ones and traveled through the caverns as easily as one could. When reaching the dwelling of Prince Bjorke, Phoenix stepped up while the party struggled to decide what to do. She pretended to be an entertainer from the Burning Fox Tribe, and had Olotoris along as her assistant. Although she did regret pretending Olotoris was her comedy companion, she managed to make up for it when she helped Zylstina and Varic train Olotoris to be funny. Afterward, Phoenix had sex with Varic, whom she had been crushing on for the majority of the quest. The Treasure of Niverbo Phoenix started out the quest in Whalehale along with the rest of the future party, as she was on her way to visit some family down in Testa after a long while spent adventuring. While walking through the town, she happened to stumble upon Surtucuras, whom she proclaimed with glee due to their previous encounters. When the plague-infested man ran out of the house, Phoenix only watched him but ran up along with the rest of the would-be party to investigate, which led to her being accompanied to the local inn with everyone else. As Brallevia went around locking everyone in their rooms, Phoenix attempted to escape by melting the lock off the door, but was unsuccessful and ended up breaking the window, where she sat outside and tried to ponder what to do next. When the rest of the party emerged after their several murders, Phoenix asked them all where they were going, to which they promptly explained their escapade to break into the mayor's house and see what he was hiding. Phoenix eagerly agreed to go along, and ended up being a part of the party to actually go inside the house, along with Warbler and Surtucuras Leapacmec. She was chosen to go along due to her fantastic people skills, and it was decided that if they were to get into trouble, Phoenix would be able to talk their way out of it. However, Phoenix's lack of experience in the field of stealth lead to her knocking over a lamp whilst trying to get closer to the door to hear what Mayor Woodengloom was saying. While Surtucuras and Warbler hid, Phoenix managed to convince the mayor that she was there to apologize for interfering with his investigation attempts and had brought him a watermelon as thanks. Mayor Woodengloom seemed to buy this story until he asked Phoenix how she had gotten into the house in the first place. Phoenix, however, was spared from answering this, as Warbler came and knocked the mayor unconscious. When meeting Asuga, Twister, and Kessa, Phoenix instantly took a liking to them, especially Asuga. Phoenix accompanied everyone in their escape and smuggling onto the Scarlet Maiden, to which she proceeds to flirt with Asuga, calling her "pretty hot" in primordial, a language Asuga doesn't speak. When being showed around the ship with everyone else, Phoenix managed to annoy Flix Bluemint with her over-the-top nature but was hardly intimidated by him. While exploring the ship by herself, she did, unfortunately, fall victim to one of Folhani Pecaluck's traps, but laughed this off, as she didn't see the harm in a good prank. It was here that the water elemental attacked, to which Phoenix began urging a bickering Folhani and Caelan Luemoroth to cut her loose as quickly as possible until a lizardfolk on board grew sick of this and cut her loose from the hammock at once. Phoenix then immediately rushed onto the deck to which, after a lot of battle, she delivered the final blow to the water elemental, hitting it with a barrage of white fire and evaporating it on the spot. After this, Phoenix along with the rest of the crew is sent below deck until the cannons are up and running. Upon doing this, she, along with Yuki Beckstrom, notice Asuga, Twister, and Kessa sneaking off with the map they stole from Mayor Woodengloom. She is one of the ones to follow them and discover one half of the map. She is also present when Lapis, Caelan, and Zanatina come down into the hold later that night to reveal their map, and when the Scarlet Maiden raids the empty Usmesh ship the following day. Trivia * Phoenix's astrological sign is Sagittarius, the archer. * Pheonix's primary Hogwarts house is Gryffindor, and her secondary house is Hufflepuff. * She's one of the only two members of Ramé Leviathan (along with Yuki Beckstrom) to be an official adventurer before joining the team. Quotes (To Asuga) "HEY, YOU'RE PRETTY HOT!"